By Haley Kay Atkinson
Postpartum is the period of life after having a baby, sometimes called the “fourth trimester" - a wonderful, magical, whirlwind of a time for anyone. Though technically considered the first six weeks after giving birth, I think of this period of time being as long as it takes for a mother to feel “normal” again. Even through all the anticipation from the moment of knowing there is a precious soul growing inside to that magnanimous moment of holding your newborn, there is no possible way to know how you will be after the baby comes. Mind, body, and spirit are in full-blown transformation for the most rewarding job in the world but just like anything worthwhile, it isn’t all sunshine and roses. The postpartum period is different for everyone, every mom and dad. Plenty of individuals will solicit advice like “sleep when the baby sleeps”, “take it easy, you just had a baby!”, “accept help from others” etc. These bits can be sound, but oftentimes mothers (and dads too!) are slowly crawling towards some semblance of normalcy after having a baby.
After our daughter was born, I personally experienced a kind of “funk”. I didn’t feel like myself but I didn’t fit into the box of baby blues or postpartum depression. I chalked it up to exhaustion and trudged through those first difficult weeks with my baby with the grace and goodness of my husband’s support and the joy of my little one. However, after the first six weeks when I was healed for physical activity, I knew that the medicine I needed was on my yoga mat. For me, this was a difficult decision to make for two reasons. The first reason was natural; I was so tired I didn’t really want to do yoga or anything really even though I couldn’t physically relax enough to nap while the baby was asleep. The second reason was that I felt guilty. Being at home while my husband was at work, I felt like I needed to cook and care for the household while it was baby’s nap time. I imagine that these feelings are pretty normal, but it was an obstacle I faced many times when I was motivated to get on my mat and ultimately it won over my practice several times. A key point to any yoga session is intention, and is important to think about when considering practicing yoga after having a baby. The intention of the practice can be anything, but focus it on your own health and wellbeing. This self-directed energy will ultimately serve your new baby and your partner in a more impactful way immediately and over time. This article explores how yoga, even a small and gentle amount, can dynamically propel you forward into feeling and being better as a new mommy (or daddy!) as well as mentioning when and how I practiced when my little one was very new.
Before we begin though I wanted to be clear about something. Baby blues is a common term used for down feelings after having a baby, usually around a couple weeks, and is incredibly common due to things like extreme hormonal fluctuations, body changes, exhaustion, and the pressure and stress that naturally comes along with a newborn. This article does not address postpartum depression - if you are having prolonged periods (more than two weeks) of extreme depression, mood swings, anxiety, thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, or anything else close to these symptoms, please talk to a doctor promptly.
The benefits from yoga coincide directly with the effort and energy put forth into the practice. Yoga however, requires self directed grace, especially after having a baby. When I first began doing yoga again after giving birth, I started with dedicating fifteen to twenty minutes to my sessions and stopping. It is a challenging exercise for me personally to have grace with my practice, i.e. I get frustrated when I can’t do as much or as intense of yoga as I’ve been able to do in the past. Allowing myself the grace to accept that performing any amount of yoga was enough was important to the beginning of real healing. Regardless of whether one has a vaginal or surgical birth, the healing goes far beyond the obvious. Nearly every nutrient reserve of the mother’s has been sapped by the baby. Bones and joints in the pelvis have shifted and relaxed greatly due to physical and hormonal influence. Abdominal muscles have literally split in half to house the fetus. Mothers’ feet will sometimes get bigger and wider and stay that way. The list of physical alterations after childbirth go on and on and are unique to every mother. When the body becomes a mother, it will never be the same. How the mother perceives and handles these changes is key to a healthy future. The integration of yoga can help mothers make this future a reality just as it did for me.
First, let’s talk about hormones. Consistent yoga, in any form and intensity, massages, stimulates and balances the nerve bundles, or chakras, responsible for directing hormonal production. The focused breathing practice during yoga additionally stimulates hormonal glands and the endocrine system. This is clearly beneficial to a body that is trying to reclaim a non-pregnant state. Balancing the hormones brings about better sleep, a firmer grasp on emotions, and boosted energy. After only a couple of yoga sessions, I noticed that I didn’t feel as utterly exhausted and the short amount of sleep I got was more restful. The “funk” that I was feeling slowly began to lift and I felt more in control of my emotions and more confident as a mom. Overall it was easier to relax and I didn’t feel as on edge after integrating yoga back into my life. More than the physical aspect, I believe that the focused breath and mindfulness ingrained in practicing yoga impacted my mental state the most. Relief from the kind of turmoil I had felt within was noticed by my husband and my baby even seemed calmer and more steady, especially while nursing and sleeping.
Yoga is commonly known for the flexibility it brings to the body, but there is a tremendous about of strength garnered through the practice. This combination of strengthening and stretching results in leaner, longer muscles, stronger tendons and ligaments, and higher resilience to injury overall. With gentleness and patience in yoga, healing injury can happen as well. No matter how much our wonderful bodies are designed to give birth, the experience can involve varying levels of trauma to the different parts of the body, most commonly the pelvis and abdominal region. My pelvis for example, hurt while lying flat on my back even though I had a smooth and natural delivery. With dedicated yoga practice however, I was able to strengthen and heal the disturbance. Don’t be mistaken however. Even after nearly a year and a half, I must continue my physical activity and practices in order to remain pain-free. This was mostly true before my baby anyway, but is increasingly critical when chasing after a little one and enjoying an active lifestyle.
Another concern that mothers often face is the extra cushion that comes along with pregnancy. Though healthy weight gain during pregnancy is natural and beneficial to the baby and mother, there is no doubt that it leaves many women feeling unattractive and uncomfortable before and after birth. These ideas easily exasperate everything else going on with a new mother, no matter how likely and anticipated they are. Though I did my best not to focus on my love handles, any stray thought about how my body looked not only made me feel blue, it was coupled with an immediate dose of guilt. My body had accomplished something utterly magical, why would I look upon it with scorn just because it doesn’t look quite like it did before? I know that other moms have similar thoughts and feelings. Though the progress was slow, adding gentle yoga jumpstarted my return to my prepartum weight and strength.
It’s important to remember that healing is different for everyone. Yoga was extremely helpful in my postpartum recovery but it’s important to note that I had practiced yoga not only for years before, but throughout my entire pregnancy. My body was primed for this kind of medicine. This doesn’t mean that it won’t work for someone that has never done yoga before, but it emphasizes how critical it is to listen to the body, take things slow and easy, and have grace and consistency. A mother’s body has accomplished an amazing feat, but growing a baby doesn’t happen overnight and neither does the healing process. Have faith in the process, breathe, and embrace gratitude for the incredible journey that is motherhood.
Haley and Baby Freya